Trick Trɪk Play People I Kids Noun Past

• they had to think of a trick to get past the guards.
• the kids are always playing tricks on their teacher.
• one of the problems of old age is that your memory can start to play tricks on you.
• was there somebody standing there or was it a trick of the light?

trick

1. something that you do to make somebody believe something that is not true, or to annoy somebody as a joke
• SEE ALSO confidence trick
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/confidence-trick
• They had to think of a trick to get past the guards.
• The kids are always playing tricks on their teacher.

Extra Examples

• She won't fall for such a stupid trick.
• Very few camera tricks are employed.
• These rhetorical tricks are common in political speeches.
• the kinds of accounting tricks that get CEOs into trouble
2. something that confuses you so that you see, understand, remember, etc. things in the wrong way
• One of the problems of old age is that your memory can start to play tricks on you.
• Was there somebody standing there or was it a trick of the light?
3. a clever action that somebody/something performs as a way of entertaining people
• SEE ALSO hat-trick
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/hat-trick
• He amused the kids with conjuring tricks.
• a magic trick
• a card trick
• You had me fooled there! Where did you learn that trick?
4. a way of doing something that works well; a good method
• The trick is to pick the animal up by the back of its neck.
• He used the old trick of attacking in order to defend himself.

Extra Examples

• Another neat trick is to add lemon peel to the water.
• He's learned a trick or two in his time working in the tax office.
• The real trick is predicting the market two years down the line.
• The trick is to keep your body still and your arms relaxed.
• There's no trick to it—you just need lots of practice.
• a trick for getting out red wine stains
5. the cards that you play or win in a single part of a card game
• SEE ALSO three-card trick
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/three-card-trick
• I won six tricks in a row.
6. a set of methods or equipment that somebody can use
• Hotel managers are using a whole new bag of tricks to attract their guests.
7. to be behaving in the same bad way as before
• He had soon spent all the money and was up to his old tricks.
8. to succeed in solving a problem or achieving a particular result
• I don't know what it was that did the trick, but I am definitely feeling much better.
9. every available method, whether it is honest or not
• He'll try every trick in the book to stop you from winning.
10. to have an idea, some plans, etc. that you keep ready to use if it becomes necessary
• I have a few tricks up my sleeve.
11. used to say that somebody notices every opportunity to gain an advantage
12. (you cannot) successfully make people change their ideas, methods of work, etc., when they have had them for a long time
13. said by children who visit people’s houses at Halloween and threaten to play tricks on people who do not give them sweets
14. the clever ways of doing things, known and used by people who do a particular job or activity
15. to have sex with somebody for money

Word Origin

• late Middle English (as a noun): from an Old French dialect variant of triche, from trichier ‘deceive’, of unknown origin. Current senses of the verb date from the mid 16th cent.